6 Bruins draftees further boost Boston College’s prospects

Boston Bruins

“They’ve demonstrated that they’re all in on on being at Boston College and seeing how good we can be.”

Fans checking out the Boston College men’s hockey team can expect to see members of the Bruins front office from time to time this season. That had already been the case last year, when the Eagles’ roster featured three forwards — Andre Gasseau, Oskar Jellvik, and Dean Letourneau — drafted by the Bruins.

All three are back at Chestnut Hill this season, and will have three more members of the organization skating alongside them.

Defenseman Kristian Kostadinski, a seventh-round pick in 2023, and forward William Moore, selected in the second round this past June, join the squad as freshmen. And then there’s James Hagens, the sophomore forward who unexpectedly fell into the organization’s lap with the seventh pick in the early summer.

With the exception of Jellvik, who was recovering from surgery, all participated in Bruins development camp in July. BC coach Greg Brown thought the experience was beneficial for all five, but particularly for newcomers Kostadinski and Moore to get familiar with their teammates.

“I think it’s valuable for everyone if they can do it just to see what pro hockey is all about,” said Brown. “Get a feel for it. See the intensity needed. See some of the detail that goes into pro hockey, and just to get a taste of it, so that it’s not all foreign or all new when they come to college.

“College hockey in general is detailed, but not as detailed as pro, so to hear the coaches talk, and to learn the expectations and kind of how you going to need to play to be effective, is a great introduction to them as they make the step up.”

Having six players from the same NHL organization on the roster, while playing in that franchise’s backyard, could be seen by some as a distraction, but Brown doesn’t view it that way.

“They’ve demonstrated that they’re all in on on being at Boston College and seeing how good we can be,” he said. “Of course, it makes it easier for the Bruins to get a lot of looks at them, so we know they’ll be close and watching.

“But all six kids are levelheaded and understand that pro hockey is something in the future, and they have to do their job here and do everything they can here to get themselves ready for that. They’ve been excellent that way, and the Bruins have been great as far as, they want the kids to be here.

“If you’re not 100 percent focused on what you’re doing, then you’re not going to be able to play your best,” added Brown. “So I think the attitude and the guidance that the Bruins have as to wanting the kids and helping them be as focused on playing here as they can, and the kids having that same attitude so far has been everything we can hope for.”

The ice at Conte Forum will be even more crowded with Bruins prospects for BC’s season opener against Quinnipiac on Friday. Defenseman Elliott Groenewold, a fourth-round pick in 2024, and forward Chris Pelosi, a third-round pick in 2023, are returning sophomores for the Bobcats. And that doesn’t include goalie Dylan Silverstein, who went undrafted but was invited to Bruins development camp.

Rand Pecknold is entering his 32nd season as head coach for Quinnipiac and believes he’s never had a game where among the two competing teams eight prospects from one organization took the ice, not even in his stint as coach for the United States in the 2023 World Junior Championships.

“I didn’t even have that there, and every kid was a draft pick,” said Pecknold with a laugh. “That’s wild that BC has six of them, and we have two. We love the two that we have, and we’re hoping the Bruins send us more down the road.”

Both skated regular shifts for a Bobcats squad that won a fifth consecutive ECAC regular-season title and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

“I was thrilled with both of them,” said Pecknold. “Not only are they great players, but they’re great people, and I think they’re both poised to have really good seasons.”

The veteran coach’s only concern about the duo centers around exactly how much longer he’ll have them plying their trade on the Hamden, Conn., campus.

“If you can ask the Bruins if they can let me have them for at least one more year after this, I would appreciate that,” added Pecknold, perhaps half-jokingly. “I’d love them for two more, and get them all the way to senior year, but I think we need to be realistic.

“But seriously, they’re very good players and leaders already as sophomores on our team.”